Moxie’s Spirits & Dining

Somewhere in between two and three stars, but I generally like to give places the benefit of the doubt.
I am a HUGE fan of M3, so I decided to give Moxie’s a try assuming it would at least be similar quality, while not expecting the same types of food available at the other location. However, the quality was just not on par that evening.
The standard bar trio of wings, mozzarella sticks, and chicken fingers was ordered. And while the flavor was decent on all of the items, the fry guy was apparently getting distracted in the back and over-​doing it a bit. The chicken ended up bone dry so much that the ranch couldn’t fix it. The mozzarella sticks ended up spewing their cheesy goodness all over the plate, and the wings were on the other side of too crispy.
However, there is a great selection of beer and wine, and the bartender was super friendly and attentive. Rather than relying on this location for food, I’ll head there for a drink next time.

If I may set the record straight here among folks rating this place between 1 and 4 stars.
The food at this location is actually very good. I dined there last night and had the special (tri-​tip with cream of broccoli soup and penne pasta) and couldn’t get enough. It was a Sunday evening when it’s not super busy and had an enjoyable experience (as I usually do when I visit this location). Kat was the bartender and did such an outstanding job. She’s so friendly, attentive, and spot on with orders. I could tell she is very well liked with her regulars.
I’ve been to this location on a number of occasions and have never once had a bad meal or bad service experience. Amie (server) is always fantastic and Scott (bartender) is dynamite and just a cool guy to chat with.
The selection of wines and spirits is outstanding for a venue that caters to both food service and cocktails. The ambiance is absolutely awesome as it’s simple, contemporary, and has one of the most stunning views of Reno /​Sparks from above. All the servers are friendly, attentive, and knows everyone (regulars). It’s like visiting the Cheers bar. The prices are fair for a more upscale neighborhood restaurant and is super clean and well taken care of.
Thanks again for such a great experience, Moxie’s. You’re one of my favorite haunts in town!

On Valentine’s Day, my husband and I wanted to do something a little different. So we just went with the flow of the night and pretended we didn’t have kids and just went wherever we felt like going.
I wanted a really good martini so we looked up martinis and this place popped up.
It was seat yourself so we sat and the waitress came to us right away. And asked us how we were. I told her we were just going to have drinks and I wanted to look at the menu. I ordered my extra dirty martini and Alex ordered his whiskey sour.
My martini was good! I would say it wasn’t dirty enough but eh it’s ok. It depends on the bartender. One time I had the best dirty martini and it’s ruined me so now I always expect it to be that way, but unfortunately I haven’t found a place that has done it the same.
Alex’s whiskey sour was good. The waitress made sure we were doing alright and right when we were done with our drinks she asked right away if we would like another.
Alex ordered an old fashioned and I got a vodka tonic with lime. I shouldn’t have ordered another one but hey we were having fun hahaha. We saw some friends and they said they loved this place so we will have to come and eat sometime.

We really like this restaurant. It’s low key, nice– varied menu, and the staff is always friendly. The service isn’t super fast, but it doesn’t bother us whatsoever. We don’t go in when we are on a tight schedule. Everything I’ve had has been good so far.

If you feel old or wrinkled and this is a first or second date, this is a great place to have your man take you, because it is so very dark. Even with my reading glasses, I had extreme difficulty making out the menu. That said, there are some beautiful views of the valley, and the food and menu seem a cut above the standard bar/​restaurant fare. The quality of food, the service, and the value are good. BTW, I also had the portobello mushroom sandwich, and unlike another reviewer found it better than average with no ill side effects!

My favorite hideaway in the whole world has gotten dumpy. My husband had a portobello burger. His fault he thought it had meat no meat which is ok. But the sandwich came with entirely to many onions and the portobellos were squishy and tasteless. Fries were overcooked. Plus he got sick from the sandwich the next day. I had the salmon salad. The salmon was too mushy and so so salty. It wasn’t not a good meal. Prices ok and the service was good. I will continue to go but will have to rethink eating.

Great prime rib sandwich !! Great service from Bill for our 4-​person lunch today. Nice atmosphere.

Love this place! Big menu and everything is great. Get take out here often and it always takes about 15 to get it. Staff is real friendly too. Great atmosphere to eat there, too!

I met my friend here for appetizers. The ambiance was a very chill laid back sports bar feel, where you can seat yourself.
I liked that there were just two TV monitors playing a game. I was so involved in conversation that I didn’t notice what was on.
There was a more secluded area where you could sit if you wanted a more restaurant ambiance, and not quite so loud sports bar. For this Saturday night, there were a number of patrons, but not so many that it was impossible to hear your dinner buddy.
Our calamari and baked Brie were super delicious! I had never had baked cheese before, so it was nice to try something new. We had it with fruit, and that was a delicious combination. The calamari was some of the best I’ve had, ranking up there with BJ’s calamari.
My biggest complaint was the service, our waitress Amie was prompt in getting our drink orders and taking down our appetizer order, but after that, she was like a ghost. She didn’t come back to check on us. Our appetizers took a good half hour or forty-​five minutes to make their way out to us. As we made our way through the calamari, we ended up running out of marinara. We asked Amie if we could have a little more and she never brought it to us. After another long period of time, my friend requested another glass of wine, and Amie didn’t return with it for another ten minutes. Once she brought the wine and saw we had finished eating, she brought the check super fast and was quite attentive and kind. I wish she had been that way throughout the whole night.

We love coming here. It is close to home consistently good service and food and one of the best views in the city from the patio.

I went to Moxie’s for lunch today. I had never been here before, but I was able to find it pretty easily. I ordered a Black N Blue chicken sandwich and it was delish! I’m a fan of bleu cheese and this was seasoned perfectly. Even with a group of 5 people they were pretty quick bringing out our food order.

Really good food here and even better service. We came here on a Friday afternoon for lunch and all ordered a cocktail. The server was friendly and very accommodating. The drinks were nice and strong, too. The food was also really tasty. I had the Ruben Sandwich with fries. In a word; delicious. My husband had the clam chowder and fajitas and said it was «bomb.» My mother-​in law enjoyed a patty melt while my father-​in-​law had a shrimp-​louie salad.
The food was all great and delivered rather quickly. The place wasn’t packed, but it is kinda tucked away. I’d honestly come again, it was a great spot for lunch.

This place only received one review in the last 1.5 years. It’s a nice restaurant with a great view with a long bar in the middle with seats on both sides, video poker, and tables behind and in front along the window where you get the great view of Reno (perhaps one of Reno’s hidden great views). There’s also an outdoor patio where you can also have a great view. There’s a bunch of burgers and sandwiches on the menu and salads where for some, you can add shrimp or tri-​tip. There’s also several appetizers and dinner entrees, mostly pasta stuff, nothing special or ground-​breaking. The tri-​tip kebab appetizer was pretty substantial, four kebabs. There are several beers on tap, but more impressive is the extensive wine-​by-​the-​glass list although it’s a bit heavy on the big brand names. The bartender, Kat was great and attentive. I think a lot of Renoites overlook this place. It’s a bit out there, but if you want a great view of Reno, I don’t think any other bar or restaurant in Reno beats this. A hidden little gem.

Nice view, good service,
Laginitas IPA on tap, awesome.

I’ve been going here for years and the service and food just gets worse and worse. I think I’ve had my last visit.

Lunch time or a bit after, the place was not busy.
Sat on the patio with the nice view and weather.
Was greeted by a guy who I guess is my friend since this is how he referred to us.
Waitress came, brought drinks and took the order,
Ordered the fish and chips of which I will say it is lucky I do not dislike burnt bits. They did achieve a very unique piece as one was quite well done on the outside and raw in the middle, now that takes a special talent. But I just did not care. The fires were good.
My sis had some concoction of beef cheese and chilies and she enjoyed it.
I honestly did not notice the service, nor the décor. Although sis said as expected the folks who sat after we were served before we. But then again as I said, I just did not care

SUMMARY: Dead bug in cottage cheese, and bad customer service
Oh how things have changed. .. a little over 3 years ago, I wrote how this place seemed upscale. .. I’m not sure if it’s my tastes that have changed or the place. Part of me wants to just rip into this place, as our recent experience there was so crappy, but I’m going to try and be level-​headed…
In general, the food is fine, nothing special — burgers, sandwiches, and a few dinner entrees. Nothing amazing, but usually okay. Views from the place are still nice. Generally, this would get a 3 star review, but my last experience there was way off, hence the drop to a single star.
In any case, we stopped in here on a Thursday evening. My GF had been on crutches for a few days (still waiting to see an orthopod for the verdict), and had wanted to get out of the apartment, so I suggested Moxies, mainly for the view. Weather was nice, so when we got there, I popped my head in, checked with the bartender if we could sit outside, and he said go ahead.
I opened the little side gate so my GF could crutch on over to the empty patio, where we take a table, and the bus boy brings out menus, setting, and water pretty much right after we were seated. Things started going downhill from there.
We’re sitting around, enjoying the weather and view, but commenting on how no one has come to serve us, and she’s ready to hop on over to Green Papaya. During the wait, I’m trying to peek inside, seeing if I can make eye contact with anyone, but the windows have a reflective coating on them, so no luck, and I opt for patience over getting up. I tend to be overly forgiving and patient, so I’m like give them 10 more minutes, which she agrees to. .. eventually a waitress does come out (15 minutes after we had been seated, and maybe 7 after we had made the 10 minute deal). She explains that there was some confusion with her and the other server about who had which zones. .. doesn’t bother me too much (mistakes happen), but it does set the tone. The GF orders the zone — pick a protein and two sides (hamburger, cottage cheese, and salad) and I get a mushroom Philly and a Lagunitas IPA.
Food comes out, and looks pretty good — we’re both craving cottage cheese, so we both take a small bite of the cottage cheese on her plate — a largish ice cream style scoop in a small bowl on the plate. I comment on how it hits the spot, and she agrees, and the she sticks her fork into the cottage cheese, and turns it, preparing for her next bite. At this point, she finds a large piece of wilting (rotting?) lettuce, and a dead insect (large gnat?) in the center of it — both of which must have been in the cottage cheese to start as it’s in its own little bowl, and this is at the bottom of the scoop of cottage cheese. Not the most pleasant thing to find in your meal, and enough to turn her off to the prospect of eating food of any sort from Moxies. Fears of scraping food from other customer’s plates, unsanitary kitchens, etc win out over my attitude that «stuff» happens.
In any case, I ask her what she wants to do and she says she doesn’t want to eat, but I should go ahead — which I do. .. the mushroom Philly and salad are fine (tomato chunks in the salad does have some pieces from the stem or with blemishes, but nothing that bothers me). The waitress eventually comes back, checking in on us, at which point the GF points out the insect and green-​ish leaf in her cottage cheese, and saying she doesn’t want the food. The waitress apologizes, and asks what my GF wants, offering to comp her food, which is fine.
In any case, we get the check, and it ends up they’ve comped my meal, instead of hers. It’s only a dollar difference, and we’re done trying to hail anyone down (since we can’t see through the reflective glass), and I pay the extra dollar, leaving a note of «Wrong comp :(«on the ticket, though I still tip $ 2 on the $ 16.55 check, (half of what I’d usually tip).
I’ve never actually gotten a bug in my food before, so I’m not sure what the apropos response from the restaurant should be — I asked around a bit afterwards, and have heard everything from the whole meal should be comped, the kitchen staff should apologize, or that we should have just left.
Whatever — I’m not vindictive, but I think since they offered a comp, and something had obviously gone wrong in the kitchen, they should have made sure that they didn’t make any more mistakes — screwing up the comp just shows a lack of attention to customer service.
So, the good:
* Nice view
* Outdoor dining
The bad:
* Iffy service
The ugly:
* Dead bug and wilting/​rotting lettuce in cottage cheese
* Crappy customer service (comps the wrong meal)

Moxie’s is the coolest bar in Caughlin Ranch. It’s at the top of Caughlin Parkway. They have decent pub grub, and several beers on tap, including one IPA.
They used to have Dogfish IPA, now they have Lagunitas, both great IPA’s. I’ve never had a bad meal here, and I usually sit in the bar area and get great service.
If you play the video games, I like video Blackjack instead of poker (money tends to last longer), the drinks are usually comped!

Great place to eat drink or just hang out and gamble. Great selection of beer and ale on tap. Food is fantastic and plentiful.

We came here for lunch on a Saturday because it seemed kid-​friendly. I got the Santa Fe sandwich with portabello mushroom and it was alright. The sandwiches come with a side and my salad was a good third of my plate, which I appreciated. My nephew got a side soup and it was so salty and pretty much inedible.
The entrée salads are very large and so are their appetizers. The service was not very good, however, probably because at lunchtime on the weekend they only had one waitress and one busboy. It took us a long time to get our check and pay which was annoying since we were a party of five plus two young children.